Spiraling into the Realm of Hatred
by Kitsune-Hanyou1
Summary: Kag can no longer take IY's harsh words. The darkness of her own consuming thoughts and voices from the soul forced back from the dead haunts her as her destressed mind begins to play tricks. IY/Kag-this may (and will) get mushy
1. Chapter 1

Spiraling into the Realm of Hatred

Chapter One

     "_Whatever_!  Feh, I don't _need_ you!  You're nothing but a _Jewel _detector!  That's all!  Haven't you figured it out yet?" Inu-Yasha roared angrily, turning on Kagome with his vulgar shouts.  "Feh, _wench_."

     The words stung into Kagome with every syllable.  With every breathy beating of her anxious heart she felt every painful slap of her pride.  Of her soul.  "Oh _really_?" she frowned painfully, trying her hardest not to let herself cry.  Not allowing herself to show him how much he had really hurt her.  "_Really_?  Is that how you feel about me?  It's all because of _Kikyou_, isn't it?" 

     The hanyou hesitated for a moment, turning his back and crossing his arms across his chest with a sneering frown.  "Feh, _whatever_.  Kikyou was much better than you anyway.  At least _she_ never _lost _the jewel shards to any _mere_ demon like you do, you stupid girl!"

     Kagome felt her heart drop to her knees, she couldn't believe what she was hearing!  What was the purpose of staying?  What was the purpose of doing him a favor by being his 'jewel-detector'?  She turned her back to him with a scowl.  "Fine then.  If you don't need me here, then I'm going to go home then."

     Inu-Yasha turned his nose away from her.  "Fine then.  Go home.  See what I care."

     The girl clenched her jaw to prevent any hindering words to blast out at him.  All the emotions that bubbled within her soul cried out, begged to let themselves be known, but she held them all bonded within.  

      She had to get out of there . . . away from him . . .

     With that, Kagome turned and ran back towards the Bone Eaters Well with her hair fluttering behind her as the hot tears that had crept into her eyes began to make themselves apparent.  But, she had promised herself not to show Inu-Yasha . . .

     She liked him, that was the truth . . .

     She would do _anything_ for him, which was also the truth . . .

     But he never showed her the same respect.  Never once.  Protecting her in battle, that's one thing, without her he would be unable to attain jewel shards.  Without her, he could never beat Naraku, or at least that's what she told herself to make her feel needed.

     And yet, she never received that same feeling from him.  All the time they had spent together, alone and wandering the strange lands and new worlds, fighting the most dangerous creatures that had ever existed upon the face of the planet including the living dead . . . she felt herself shudder with anger.

     Kikyou.  All because of Kikyou . . .

     Perhaps the two of them _should_ have been together.  Perhaps Inu-Yasha _should_ go after that dead girl!  Inu-Yasha seemed to think that Kikyou was better than Kagome anyway, so why didn't he just go off by himself and find her . . . she hated him and wished him dead . . . but Kagome didn't . . .

     The girl stumbled through the underbrush of the woods, tears streaming from her eyes as she fought her way blindly as far away from the village as she possibly could . . .

     But she had passed the well a long time ago . . . but she didn't care . . .

     It didn't bother her . . .

     All she wanted was to get away from Inu-Yasha . . . from the village . . .

     From the embarrassment . . .

     From her heart . . .

     How _dare_ she allow herself to feel that way about someone.  To think that someone could like her back in any way more than a friend, or a partner in a great task.  They were only friends that fought a lot, he used foul language to her and yet she still longed for him.  His orange eyes flashed hatred sometimes, pain on other occasions but she thought she had seen more than that when he looked at her on more than one occasion . . .

     The way he reached for her in the midst of battle . . .

     How he threw himself in front of an attack by the Tetsusiaga for her . . . nearly killed him . . .

     Kagome tripped and slammed into the humid earth, she gripped the cool, dry soil within her trembling fingers as her own salty tears turned it into mud just under her face.  But she didn't care.  She didn't want this to go on anymore.  She was tired of him not responding to her.  Not caring about her.  Not getting her signals . . .

     They had so many emotional moments together . . . with her he felt at peace, at least that's what he told her . . .

     So why does he act so cruel?  He was thinking of Kikyou, Kagome cried.  Kikyou.  That woman!  That woman who's very goal in life . . . well, living death . . . was to destroy him.  Kill him.  Take him down with her.  Love had corrupted her . . .

     Their love betrayed was what turned her into a sinful beast forced back from the dead.  The pain that still haunted her . . . that still consumed her . . . 

     Kagome could not help but feel some of that betrayal that Kikyou had felt . . . that soul was still there within her as it tried to bubble up, reminding her of things that was only experienced by the dead woman.  Was that why she was suddenly overreacting?  Was it their last encounter with Kikyou when she was nearly killed by her?  Was it that that triggered this sudden explosion of weakness to the hanyou's harsh words.  

     For some reason, Kagome remembered his love for her . . . but not for her . . . for Kikyou . . . he _never_ saw _her_ . . . he only saw Kikyou!  Those eyes that looked to her with more than just worry weren't for her . . . it was for who she was made doubled . . . those longing eyes were for Kikyou . . .

     Did he really hate her?  Kagome worried to herself as she cried.  

     Damn Kikyou!  

     Damn her!

     Inu-Yasha had to have hated her.  He could never feel the same way about Kagome as she felt for him!  He made that so obvious!  All the time she had spent with him that she fell in love with him and yet he remained oblivious!  Had the truth come out and she not noticed?  Had he figured it out himself?

     How did he feel about her?  If anything?

     She trembled as rain began to patter to the forest floor.  Kagome still cried as she heard someone approaching through the dampening underbrush, but the gentle sounds were hushed by the rain that strengthened into silvery sheets that slapped the dry leaves where Kagome lay . . .

     But she could still hear it.  

     Was it Inu-Yasha, she wondered to herself, half tempted to look up and half tempted to keep her tears a secret, her red eyes away from he who would then see the truth of how she felt . . .

     The presence stopped before her, but she did not look up.  Only the red pant legs of the stranger trembled in the rain, the bare feet dipped into the mud . . .

     Kagome could not help it and quickly looked up . . .

     Kikyou stood there, silent with a frown across her pale face.  Serious.  Stern.  Powerful.  

     Kagome gaped in shock and yet refused to move.  The two glared at each other in a deathly silence, eyes focused on one another . . .  

     The dead woman reached out a hand to her.  "Come with me, Kagome."

     "Why?" she roared in response, pushing herself up onto muddy hands and knees, backing away from Kikyou.  "What do you want?  To kill me?"

     She was not amused.  "I have come to help you, Kagome."

     "Help me?  _HA_!  You just want the rest of your soul back!" she shouted frantically, pulling herself to her feet.  "You're not gonna get it, see!  You're NOT going to get it!"

     Kagome felt her eyes lock in the womans icy glare, but quickly turned away, tearing into the woods ahead of her, leaving Kikyou standing quietly in the woods by herself, watching her leave . . .

     The dead woman smiled . . .

     The village was in the opposite direction in which Kagome ran . . .

     Kagome sobbed into the rain . . .

     Kikyou closed her sad eyes.  She was heading in the right direction . . .

     Kagome was doing exactly as was expected . . .     

*** Okay, this story is what I call 'a momentary emotional fling' so I hope you like it and I hope that you review it and let me know if it's good or not.  I'll try to put up more tomorrow – hehe.  **READ AND REVIEW!!!**  Thank you oh so much!  I live to know you guys like it!!  Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!

Thank you! *** 


	2. Chapter 2

Spiraling into the Realm of Hatred

Chapter Two

     Kagome ran until she hurt.  Ran until her legs begged her to stop . . . to stop and fall to the sopping ground.  Her heart beat rapidly in her chest, painfully slamming against her ribcage, but she ignored it.  She ignored it all.  There was no stopping her now, the village was far behind and the forest was inky and dark.  Black.  Searing rain fell upon her body, washing away the sweat that no doubt poured from her, mingling with the salty tears that screamed down her face as she sobbed.  

     Running.

     It was the furthest she had ever ran before.  It was everything that had built up within her.  Everything that echoed in her mind . . . echoed in her head for a long time . . .

     For a time longer than she could really remember . . .

     It hurt her, the thoughts barraged her senses . . . clouded her thoughts, her emotions swelled within her . . .

     Everything came back to haunt her . . .

     The lies . . .

     The lies . . .

     He had said he had liked her . . .

     _Loved _her . . .

    She wanted him to love her . . .

     She wanted him to care about her . . .

     But he wasn't following her path torn through the forest.  Inu-Yasha wasn't pursuing Kagome because he didn't care.  He was probably back in the warm hut, dry and comfortable thinking about Kikyou.

     _Kikyou_!  
     That bitch Kikyou!

     But Kagome didn't care anymore!  How could she?  _Why_ should she?  Inu-Yasha was so rude, belligerent and cruel . . .

     She didn't care anymore! 

     No more!  

     He probably cursed her behind her back if he knew her true feelings.  Had she let them out?  He probably would curse her.  Tease her.  Insult her emotions as if they were nothing and then ignore her even though she was of use to him.  

     Of use.  

     Kagome didn't want to be of use to anybody!  She wanted to be loved!  Every red blooded girl wanted to be loved!  But, Inu-Yasha was a demon, not a human.  Though he had human blood in him he was still demon.  Perhaps that had something to do with it – that's why he loves a _dead_ woman!

     _"I think about you all the time_!" he had said to her.  Kagome _heard_ him say that to her!!  And then he acted as if it meant nothing!  As if he had never said it!  As if it shouldn't hurt her feelings!

     But it did hurt her feelings.

     _He lied to me_!  Kagome cried out within her soul.  _He lied to me this whole time!  I'm nothing to him!  Nothing!_

     Through her tears and the rain pummeling the forest she realized that she was lost.

     But she didn't care.

     Let a demon take her!  Let a demon kill her!  Put her out of her emotional misery!  Take her life and bring her into the peace of death . . .

     The death that Kikyou had . . .

     The death that Kikyou had been brought back from . . .

     Forced back from . . .

     Kagome fell into the mud in a ball with her knees against her chest and the rain keeping the thick much from clinging to her face as she cried harder.  She longed for death . . . wished for it . . . desired it . . .

     If she could just die here, no one would notice . . .

     Inu-Yasha would, she thought to herself bitterly.  He would notice because she wouldn't be able to sense the jewel shards anymore.  He wouldn't be able to turn himself into a full demon . . .

     HA!  Too bad for him, Kagome thought harshly.  That was all he wanted.  All he cared about . . . so he can be with that dead woman . . .

     The breath in her lungs came out in gasping whimpers as she struggled to remain conscious, her heart fluttered and palpitated as she tried to calm down.  But she couldn't.  She tried, but she couldn't bring her mind at ease . . .

     Her body cried for sleep, but she couldn't cease the thoughts that rushed through her.

     Consumed her . . .

     Why wasn't Inu-Yasha following her?  He didn't care!  HE DIDN'T CARE!!

     She trembled even harder, thinking about what the hanyou was doing at that moment.  He could smell her, Kagome knew.  Why didn't he come after her.  Perhaps he thought she'd come back that night and everything would be okay.  He would ignore it just as he ignored everything.  Everything.  Any emotion that came out of her he only bypassed as if it were nothing to him.  Nothing.

      Absolutely nothing.  

     Then that meant that he thought she was absolutely nothing.  Nothing at all but a jewel detector.  A _friend_ that he _had_ to keep alive in order to get what he wanted.

     That's all.

     Only what he wanted.

     Selfish.  

     Selfish brute. 

     But she didn't care.

     She was alone in the woods now.  She didn't care if that heathen beast missed her. 

     She didn't care if that monster loved her.

     She did, but she couldn't. 

     She did, but how could she?

     She did, but it was a waste of time . . .

     _"I think about you all the time, Kikyou_._" _He had said to that woman, in front of her even.

     Kagome was tired of being brushed aside for her.  How he didn't care about her . . . she wanted him to . . .

     Oh how she _prayed_ he would care for her.  Loved her as he had loved Kikyou.  She was dead . . . sort of . . . he should have gotten over it.  Kikyou wanted him dead – Kagome wanted him alive . . .

     But she couldn't make him see that.

     It was beyond her power to make him see it.

     Just a jewel detector . . .

     Just a shard seeker with the Sight . . .

     Just a reincarnated Miko.

     That and only that . . .

     And that didn't mean anything to Inu-Yasha.

     Kagome cringed and caught her breath.  The rain began to grow cold around her as she struggled to calm down.  The mud oozed about her body as she moved, her legs ached, her chest screamed for more air as she inhaled deeply and sighed . . .

     She had seen Kikyou just before she had ran.  Sad and lonely she had stood over Kagome . . . but she had not been sad and lonely then . . . she seemed as if she were up to something.

     Something . . .

     _He lied to me_!  _He lied to me_!

     Those words ran through her head.  All she wanted to do was scream.  To cry.  To howl into the night . . .

     Inu-Yasha didn't care about her . . .

     Why should she care.

     Why should she even stay . . .

     With a gasping effort, the young girl pushed herself to her feet and stumbled forward, her feet sinking into the muck of the earth.  Her raven hair was plastered against her back and shoulders, but she didn't care.  

     Her face was swollen and red with tears.

     But she didn't care . . .

     The forest seemed so pleasant . . . so welcoming . . .

     She turned back to the direction in which she had come, Kagome knew the village was back there.  She knew that Inu-Yasha was back there.

     But he didn't care.  

     He didn't care about her . . .

     Miroku didn't care about her . . .

     Sango didn't care . . .

     But, _Inu-Yasha_ . . .

     She had spent so long caring for him . . .

     All for what?  All for _nothing_ . . .

     _Inu-Yasha_ a voice of reason whispered in her thoughts . . .

     _He lied to me!  He lied to me!_

     Kagome turned her back and walked further into the darkness of the stormy forest, away from the friendly village . . .

     Away from her struggling heart . . .

     Away from Inu-Yasha . . .

     Kikyou smiled.

*** Oh, can you sense by bitterness?? grin I hope you like!!!  Gee, do you think he would actually come after her?  Poor Kagome.   Please read and review!!  Reviews _goooood_!!! ***


	3. Chapter 3

Spiraling into the Realm of Hatred

Chapter Three

     "Inu-Yasha, where is Kagome?" Miroku asked peacefully, though the worry showed through his voice. "I have not seen her since earlier in the evening."

     The hanyou scowled and stared out through the open doorway of Kaede's hut at the darkness and the rain that swept over the forest, shrugging, "I don't know."

     "Well, you _have_ to know.  It _was_ you who last saw here, was it not?" the Monk continued, agitation growing.  "It is late and the weather is bad . . ."

     "She'll be _fine_.  Just let her go for a few hours, she'll be back."

     Miroku frowned sullenly.  "You act as if you do not care, Inu-Yasha.  Is that the case?"

     "I _care_!" he hissed with his arms stubbornly across his chest.  "She just got mad and needs to blow off some steam, that's all.  Just leave me alone about it.  It's not like I _made_ her go into the woods by herself!"

     "You mean to tell me that Lady Kagome went into the _forest_ this night?" he gasped in horror.  "And you _let_ her?"

     Inu-Yasha's orange eyes glinted with momentary hatred for the Monk's interference, but then turned to avoid anyone noticing the anxiety that crept into them.  "She'll be fine."

     Miroku clenched his staff.  "Inu-Yasha, do you understand the severity of this . . . if something were to happen to Lady Kagome then . . . then I am afraid I would never be able to be in your presence again as a friend."

     "Feh, _whatever_." He snarled, turning away.

     "I just think that you are being stubborn, that is all.  What _does_ Lady Kagome mean to you anyway, Inu-Yasha?  I know you have feelings for her, but you can't expect to _treat_ her the way you do and actually have her _stay_ with you." Miroku tried to reason, but Inu-Yasha's ears only turned away as if he weren't listening.  He sighed and turned his back to the foolish hanyou, closing his eyes in frustration.  "And you cannot deny that she might have feelings for you either if she stayed as long as she had with you.  And then this Kikyou business, I can sense that the trouble that is occurring is originating from it.  Do you not think so?  I swear, Inu-Yasha, if you do not go after Lady Kagome and bring her back I will have to." He paused to make his point, but received no answer.  "Are you even _listening_ to me?"

     But when he turned, Inu-Yasha was gone . . .

     A crack of thunder resounded across the forest and fields beyond the safety of the hut.

     A cloud of evil formed within the thunderheads . . .

     He could sense the living dead . . .

     Hatred . . .

     He prayed that Kagome would be all right . . .

******************************

     Maybe he is having some sort of pleasure about having her like him.  That was it.  Inu-Yasha _knew_ Kagome liked him, that's why he had kept her around.  He relished it.  Loved it.  Desired it.  It was something to feed his ego.  Something to feed his pride.  Something to make him _feel _better about _himself_ since _nothing_ can bring _him_ down.

     Nothing. 

     He could be angry.  In fact, he mostly _was_ angry . . .

     He could be a little sad . . . but it was only when it involved Kikyou . . .

     _Kikyou_ . . .

     The name resounded in Kagome's head like a hammer.  She stopped along the path where she walked, driving her fists into her forehead, trying to force that name from her very thoughts.

     But Kikyou was in her thoughts . . .

     She _was_ her thoughts . . .

     The rain caressed her back like an animal mauling its prey, it felt as though the heavens were trying to push her back to the earth . . . to the pit of hell that she was struggling to be free from.  The pain that occupied her . . .

     The thoughts of what could have been . . .

     What could be . . .

     How could she be so foolish to think that Inu-Yasha could have liked her?  _Her_?  She wasn't special, wasn't better than any other girl they had come across in their travels – especially not that dead woman.  What did she not have to offer that Kikyou had?  

     Inu-Yasha's heart, that's what!  

     She had to keep running . . . but she was so tired . . .

     And cold . . .

     The rain was like ice, the wind cut through her body and caused her to shiver . . .

     But she didn't care.  She was away from _him_.  Away from the village.  Would anyone care that she had run away?  Would anyone notice until morning when they were to leave searching out the rumors of the jewel?  Would anyone notice that she wasn't there until it was time to _see_ the jewel?  Find it!  Take it!  Without her, they wouldn't be very successful.  

     Not at all.

     Kagome finally collapsed from the cold . . . from the pain that nagged at her legs as the night rolled on in waves of water . . .

     She was so tired so suddenly, as if she had stayed up for days upon end . . . or was it the emotional stress she was under that just made her want to curl into a little ball and sleep away the pain.

     Hopefully she would never wake up . . .

     Kikyou watched her, she could feel those dead eyes on her . . . but she didn't care. 

     "You can have him!" Kagome cried out into the dark.  "You can have him, _Kikyou_ . . . I . . . I just don't _care_ anymore . . ."

     "Oh . . . I think that you do." The strange voice answered through a pleased smile.  "You do care or you would not be as upset as you are."

     "It's just that . . . it's just that . . ." she sobbed, gripping the mud between her fingers as if it could provide comfort for her tortured soul.  "He loves you, Kikyou!  Not me."

     "I could have told you that, Kagome.  Inu-Yasha will never love you.  Not as long as I am around." The dead Miko's skin glowed a pale white as the slithering serpent-like soul stealing demons encircled her, surrounded her with their insect like grins and twitching legs.  

     "But . . . but you want him dead!" 

     "Yes.  That is the truth.  He will be with me forever, Kagome.  Not you." 

     Kagome's heart ripped in half upon those words.  There really was no hope . . .

     No hope . . .

     "Oh, poor Kagome." Kikyou mused, not even bothering to hide the giddy joy of her victory.  "Poor Kagome, who could _ever_ love a girl like _you_?

*** Please Review!!!  I love hearing your reviews!  A **BIG** thank you to all those who have already let me know what you guys think.  The more I hear the more I write – that is a promise!!! GRIN***


	4. Chapter 4

Spiraling into the Realm of Hatred

Chapter Four

     Nothing could stave the anger that welled within Kagome's heart.  Kikyou was right.  Kikyou was right about everything . . . How could Inu-Yasha love her?  How could Inu-Yasha even _care_ for her as nothing more than a friend?

     As a _Jewel_ detector?

     The living dead stood over her, her hair damp and sagging about her and yet still seemed as if the rain did not touch it . . . her eyes firm and unafraid . . .

     Uncaring . . .

     Unhindered . . .

     Kagome felt her breath in her lungs . . . it was painful . . . hard to breathe . . .

     The mud was cold on her skin as she struggled to remain on her hands and knees, her white shirt dark and stained . . . but she didn't care . . .

     How could she?

     What did it matter what she looked like?  It wasn't as if she had anyone to impress!  It wasn't as if anyone really _cared_!

     "Get up, Kagome." Kikyou spoke slowly.  "Pick yourself up from the ground and keep running."

     But she didn't feel like running anymore . . . she did, but her legs wouldn't cooperate.  Her heart couldn't keep beating in her chest as fast as it was . . . it hurt to breathe . . . it hurt to think.  "N . . . _no _. . ."

     "You cannot be weak now, Kagome.  You must pick yourself up.  You must keep running from here.  It is the only way to free yourself from this pain."

     "I . . . I can't . . ." the girl gasped.  

     "You can and you _will_." Kikyou urged.  "Run, Kagome.  You are no longer welcomed here.  Leave this forest, Kagome.  Leave here and never return."

      "Kikyou . . ." Kagome coughed through the rain.  "Kikyou, this is . . . this is your doing!  It's because of _you_ . . ."

     The Priestess's smile widened.  "What could cause a foolish little girl to believe that someone like Inu-Yasha could love _anyone _such as you?  _Fool_."

     Kagome trembled and again, pushed herself up onto her feet.  Her knees shook, the bitterness from the winds and the rain cut through her as it also grew inside of her. 

     The hate became consuming.

     "Run, Kagome.  Run to the ends of the earth . . . never return."

     _He lied_ . . .

     _Inu-Yasha didn't mean any kind words ever spoken to me in regards to his feelings towards me . . ._

     _Other than a jewel shard detector . . ._

_     Only that . . ._

     Kikyou smiled . . .

     She was nothing to him.

     Nothing . . .

     "_Run_ . . ."

     Kagome listened, it wasn't as if she had a choice.  It was cold and she cried, harder than before, gasping for breath as she left the dead priestess behind . . .

     But she didn't care . . .

     Somewhere in the back of her mind, Kagome began to think about Kikyou.  About how her mind was playing tricks on her because of Kikyou's presence, about her being there.  About how she was trying to get Kagome away from . . .

     _He lied . . ._

_     He could never like you . . ._

_     Never . . . _

_     He lied . . ._

**********************

     Inu-Yasha worked his way into the forest, but there were no scents in the drenching rain.  His nose was useless, his ears also . . . but he had to try.  Suddenly he felt bad for Kagome . . . she was alone in the woods at night because of him . . .

     Because of his words . . .

     But why hadn't she returned?  She always returned by then . . .

     Had she gone down the well? 

     No, her scent would have disappeared by the time the rains began . . . she had gone past the well, away from it . . .

     She was still in the forest, he could sense it.

     A flash of lighting skittered across the belly of the looming clouds, lighting the hanyou's path for a mere second.  Any footprints delved in the mud in which he stepped through would have washed away long before he arrived . . . the shadows of the forest seemed deeper . . .

     There was a hatred he felt there.  Enveloping just as if it were the darkness of the night blotted by the storm clouds and enhanced by the sweeping sheets of rain . . .

     And Kagome was all by herself.

     The hanyou thought about what he had said.  About what Miroku had said to him.  But finding Kagome was more important on his mind . . .

     She had to be close by . . .

     He felt her . . .

     He heard her crying through the rain pattering into the mud and tapping against the trees . . . against his ears . . .

     Kagome's soul cried out for him, but it was faint . . . and fading . . .

     He had to get to her!  The fading . . . the fading meant that if her soul faded any more that he would lose her . . .

     "Where do you think you are going, Inu-Yasha?" a stern, feminine voice stopped the hanyou in his tracks from behind.

     Silence ensued before he could gasp a shocked response.  "_K . . . Kikyou?_"

     The dead shrine maiden frowned solemnly.  "Searching for someone?  That _girl_ perhaps?"  
     "_AND_?  What about her?  Where did she go?" Inu-Yasha growled, suddenly any remorseful feelings towards Kikyou were shaken.  "Where's _Kagome_?"

     A wave of hurt spread across her emotionless face.  "You care more for that foolish girl than I who stands before you?"

     Inu-Yasha took a shocked step back as the woman approached him, raising a hand to place tenderly upon his shoulder.  "I . . . I need to know where Kagome went!"

     "You sound as if you are troubled, Inu-Yasha . . . here, let me help you forget about her." Kikyou leaned in for a gentle kiss . . . but scowled upon the hanyou pulling away.  She gripped the sleeves of his kimono.  "_Forget_ about her!  She is gone!  It is too late to save her!"

     "Save her?  Save her from what?" Inu-Yasha nearly threw the woman to the side in fear, frustration mounting.  "Save her from _what_?"

     Kikyou smiled sweetly.  "From herself."


	5. Chapter 5

Spiraling into the Realm of Hatred

Chapter Five

     "What do you mean 'from herself'?" Inu-Yasha asked, hurt dwelled in his voice as he pushed the dead woman away from him, holding onto her shoulders so that he could look into her dark eyes.  "What happened to Kagome?"

     A cold hand reached for his sleeve, Kikyou cringed as he pulled away from her.  Not willing to fall for such trickery . . . "She's lost."

     "Lost?  Lost where?"  
     The woman turned away from him, her long black hair fluttering limply behind her.  "Lost in these woods.  Lost in her own realm of hatred."

     Inu-Yasha nearly fell over in shock.  "Hatred?  Hatred of what?"

     "Well," she turned, her eyes locking upon his.  "Hatred of _you_."

     There was a slight flicker of amusement those eyes that stared so balefully at him, but the hanyou blinked hard, pretending he didn't see the irony in those black pools.  "_H . . . Hatred . . ._" the word was forced from his mouth like venom.  "B . . . but . . ."

      "She feels hatred for you, Inu-Yasha." Kikyou reached a hand towards him again, gentle . . . gray . . .

     He bristled.  "And I'm sure _you_ had nothing to do with this?" 

     Kikyou smiled sweetly, "You are nothing but a monster, Inu-Yasha . . ." she grabbed onto his sleeves, hot energy burned from her tight grip and into the hanyou's flesh.  "And now _I_ am not the _only_ one who sees you for _what_ you _are_!  Remember . . . she _is_ me . . ."

     Inu-Yasha howled, pushing her from him and sending her sprawling to the ground.  "Have you not realized that it was _Naraku_ that was after you?  Onigumo?  Remember?  Not me . . "

     "LIAR!!" the dead Miko screamed, leaping to her feet in a fit of anger and rushing towards him, but was only pushed down again like empty weight.  Pushed down by her own despair.  "You are a _traitor_, Inu-Yasha!  Do you truly love _her_ more than you love _me_?"

     He paused, the sudden question taking him by surprise, though the dangerous words had echoed within his thought prior . . . though he never allowed himself to ponder  . . .

     Never wanted to think about it . . .

     Never wanted to make a choice . . .

     Inu-Yasha clenched his jaw and began to walk away, the rain continued to beat down upon him but it was as if he had just realized the big drops that slapped against his skin . . .

     Lighting shattered across the black clouds that rippled against the sky . . .

     "Inu-Yasha." Kikyou demanded boldly.  "Answer my question.  Do you love that _girl_ more than you love _me_?"

     He stopped with a silence unbefitting to him . . . an orange eye glinted behind him to the sad creature that lay at his feet.  At first, he felt sorry for her . . . but it was her doing . . . he knew it.  He could _feel_ it . . . "If you do not tell me where Kagome is . . . then I will go find her myself.  Without your help."

     Kikyou frowned and stood up, turning away from him.  "Then so be it."

     There was nothing to do but let her go . . .

     There was nothing to say to Kikyou anymore . . .

      But Kagome's scent was still no where, the rain washed it away from wherever it may have been . . . thunder erupted across the forest, lighting the hanyou's way for a mere moment . . .

     A flicker of a second . . .

     And thus Kikyou was already gone, but he didn't care where she had gone to.  Somewhere deep within his heart he worried for her, felt a twinge of sorrow for her, but not at that moment . . . not when Kagome was all alone and defenseless . . . with the forced soul of a dead woman to taunt her thoughts . . .

     Her sanity . . .

     Inu-Yasha had to hurry . . .

**********************

     Kagome lay in the mud, shocked and dazed as the chill of the night crept into her bones.  Lulling her frantic thoughts . . . numbing her body to the pain . . . 

     The mud felt good against her bare skin, thick raindrops fell against her body, letting her sink into the mud a little further . . .

     It wasn't as if she had anyone to impress . . .

     It wasn't as if anyone was going to find her own there . . .

     Like they were _looking_ for her . . .

     There was something out in the underbrush of the forest, though . . . watching her . . .

     She could feel its eyes . . . hear it's excited breathing as it sized her up . . .

     Watched her . . .

     Lusted for her flesh . . .

     But, she didn't care . . .

     It wasn't Inu-Yasha, that she already could tell.  This beast lurked . . . hid from her view.  Well, at least it tried to.  But she could still see hard red scales shifting under the fronds it hid beyond . . .

     She could smell the hint of death from its breath . . .

     Decay . . .

     It hunted her . . .

     Perhaps it was for the better, she thought.  The emotional pain that she felt within her heart . . . within herself . . . perhaps death was the only way to free herself from it.  After all, it was how Kikyou allowed it to happen . . . instead of living with the pain . . . she let it end her . . .

     Perhaps that's how this would happen.  Maybe she'd be reincarnated as something other than a young, foolish, love struck girl . . . maybe she'd be brought back into something so beautiful Inu-Yasha would want it . . .

     Something who's beauty paled Kikyou's . . .

     Something Inu-Yasha could notice . . . love . . . respect . . . not the clone of a dead woman . . .

     The demon beyond her recognition continued to sniff about in the mud . . .

     A spark of worry bordered Kagome's thoughts, but she could not place the source.  Warmth barely began to return to her limp body . . . she lifted her head up to get a better look, her hair slick with the wet of the weather slipped in front of her face, but she still couldn't get a good view. 

     There was a long, breathy hiss . . .

     Kagome looked harder . . . but only the corpse of a dead warrior rotted away against the other side of a big tree . . .

     His bow and arrow still in hand . . .

     Where she lay had to have been the domain of this strange creature and she merely wandered into it . . . now it would kill her . . .

     Perhaps it was fate . . . she resigned . . .

     The demon would kill her . . .

     And take the jewel . . .

     Kagome gasped in shock . . . she still had the shard around her neck!

     That's what the demon wanted . . .

     That's what he was after . . . to take it from her . . .

     Kagome pushed herself onto her hands and knees.  As much as she longed for death, she couldn't let any other creature get the jewel . . .

     Never . . .

     Her legs trembled as she stood, her lonely eyes focused on the demon . . .

     Her jaw clenched as she reached for the bow and arrow from the dead body . . .

     The demon lurched out of its hiding place, a millipede twice as long as she with its pincer jaws snapping open and closed for her throat . . .

     Kagome fell back before she could feel the rotting wood of the weapons touch the tip of her fingers, she struggled to get them . . . but the creature was already on top of her . . .

     The breath was knocked from her as she stared up into its flaring eyes . . .

     Thick ropes of drool slopped just next to her head . . .     

**Please review my work!!!  I enjoy hearing from you all!!!  Please review!  PLEASE!!***


	6. Chapter 6

Spiraling into the Realm of Hatred

Chapter Six

     The foul breath of the demon upon Kagome blew into her face in great hot waves, choking her . . . it smelled of rotten flesh as the pinchers clamped and released and clamped again as she tried to hold it back . . .

     But it was so heavy . . .

     The hand that held the bow trembled with the weight and she dare not let it go . . . but she had no arrow to use . . . what is a bow without an arrow?  She began to panic, the beast lunged at her again, its pointy insect legs driving into the mud around her, churning up the soaked humid earth . . .

     With a great effort, Kagome kicked the millipede from her, not watching as it splattered into the muck and struggled to her feet . . .

     The quiver of bows peeked from behind the remains of the dead warrior, she reached out for it, but slipped in the mess of the pounding rain, blinded by the mud and driven down by the demon that had regained its footing . . . she squealed in pain as one of its claws forced itself into her flesh . . .

      Blood oozed from her body, but she still continued to reach for the arrows . . .

     The dark feathers that ended the shaft beckoned just beyond her reach, tattered with age and sagging with moisture, they teased her . . .

     The demon pulled her back through the mud . . .

     Its claw still imbedded in her side, she could feel it within her body, writhing to get a better grip . . .

     A deadlier grip . . .

     She winced in agony, twisted in pain as she tried to pull herself free.  The claw emerged with a geyser of blood behind it, but she forced herself not to watch . . .

     The demon howled and roared, thirsting for more of her blood . . .

     Itching for the jewel around her neck . . .

     Kagome turned away as the jagged mouth-parts of the giant millipede clapped shut within a hairs breath from her cheek, she pushed away with her hands under its heavy body, trying in vain to kick it away again . . .

     The arrows were so close . . .

     Never had she fought so long like this . . . usually Inu-Yasha was there to save her . . . 

     But he wasn't there now . . .

     It was all her . . .

     She would prove to him that she could defend the jewel on her own!  

     But . . . she thought sadly to herself, if it were not for the cursed jewel . . . she would not have cared to fight back . . .

     She cried out as she felt her foot strike the belly scales of the beast and again it was thrown aside . . .

     This time she was quicker, throwing her weight forward and finally felt the blessed tickle of the wet feathers at the tip of her fingers as she grabbed at the arrows . . . the bow tight in her other hand . . .

     The demon lurched at her again, launching itself from a nearby tree with a sickening roar . . .

     Kagome whirled around onto her back as the vile shadow crossed over her, its eyes glinting savagely in the light of the moon . . . she pulled back upon the string of her bow, rain stinging her eyes, and released the arrow where it made a moist and heavy cracking thud . . .

     The demon cried out, its mandibles opened and closed, drool exploded in frothy fervor as it felt its own life slip from its body and landed upon the girl . . .

     The jewel shard was so close . . .

     Kagome pushed it away from her as it lay dying, twitching its deadly legs and lashing its mouth-parts to the air as its eyes flickered with its last bit of life . . .

     Then, it died.  

     She tightened her hand around the bow as she forced herself not to tremble . . .

     The demon was slain by her . . . not by Inu-Yasha – she thought proudly to herself.  She had protected the jewel . . .

     All by herself . . .

     As if by second thought, Kagome reached down to the dead warrior's quiver, cringing at its decay and smell as she realized _what_ she was doing . . . yet she grabbed another arrow and stood in the rain . . .

     Silent . . .

     Thoughtful . . . as if she were waiting . . .

     But she could not think of what she could have been waiting for.  Another demon, perhaps?

     "K . . . _Kagome_?"

     Her name stuttered through the darkness and gloom, sending a dagger through her pained heart as she turned . . .

     Inu-Yasha stood at the edge of the churned clearing, his face pale and his eyes clear with fright . . . stunned . . . watching her . . .

     Shaking . . .

     Kagome frowned.  "What are you doing here, Inu-Yasha?"

     He took a step forward.  "K . . . Kagome . . . are you . . . alright?"

     "Why do you care?" she growled, stepping back defensively.  "The jewel's safe."

     It was a long moment before the hanyou spoke again, his words so unsure and small.  "I . . . I don't _care_ how the jewel is.  I only care about . . ."

     But he couldn't finish his thoughts . . .

     He choked . . .

     Kagome felt her heart flutter, but pushed those foolish feelings aside.  They've only gotten her hurt . . . "huh, _whatever_."

     "No, seriously.  Are _you_ okay?" he took another tentative step forward and grimaced when she stepped away from him, thrusting the bow and loading the decrepit arrow upon the string . . . but she kept it towards the ground.  "Please . . ."

     "Don't come near me!" she ordered.

     Inu-Yasha froze.  "Listen . . . I'm . . ."

     "Shut up!"

     "But . . . _Kagome . . ._ you're not yourself . . ." 

     Kagome cringed and lifted her weapon, eying down the shaft of the arrow aimed directly for the hanyou's heart.  "I said, don't come near me!"

     Inu-Yasha paled.  "But. . . _K . . . Kag . . . _you . . . you're _hurt_ . . ."

     "_DIE INU-YASHA!!!"_

**Awwww – poooor Inu-Yashaaaaa.  Please review and let me know what you think!  I wonder if he can get through to her!!  Or perhaps she has delved to deeply within the realm of hatred that she has sunk into to get out?  sigh I don't know.  Bitterness is not exactly an easy emotion to overcome.  We'll just have to see.  Let me know what you think eeeeeeevil grin and I will just have to think about how it's gonna go another evil grin bwuahahahahaha!***  okay, enough of my goofing around.  Do let me know what you all think!!!!  Reviews are goooooooooooooood!!!***


	7. Chapter 7

Spiraling into the Realm of Hatred

  
Chapter Seven

     The bow shuddered in Kagome's numb hands, the metal tip quivered in the sheets of rain that pummeled her, drawing the color from her already pale skin.  She pulled the string ever more taunt as Inu-Yasha faced her, his hands held up in submission . . . he came no closer . . . in shock at the fierce eyes that ripped a hole through his heart . . .

     Tore a piece from his soul as if they had claws of their own . . .

     Kagome's eyes were hard . . . they weren't her usual self . . . they were strange, confused . . . dead . . . 

     Filled with hatred.

     "K . . . Kagome . . ." Inu-Yasha tried, but her angry voice silenced him. 

     "Shut up!" 

     "Please, Kagome . . ." he pleaded softly, his eyes desperately seeking to find hers amidst their oddity . . . but unusual familiarity . . .  "Please . . . Kagome, look at me . . ."

     "I _am_ looking at you." She hissed in a low, dangerous voice.  Her muscles tensed within her body as she released the arrow that had once been held so tightly within her fingers and watched astounded as it sailed into the muddy ground just where Inu-Yasha had stood . . . she grabbed for another arrow . . . "Damn it!" 

    "_Kagome_!" the hanyou shouted in distress, landing upon a tree branch above her head, gripping the bark with his claws, preparing to leap again.  "Kagome, think about what you're doing!"

     Another arrow raced towards his chest, driving itself deep within the flesh of the tree as he leaped, swiftly soaring the air with his silver hair flowing behind him.  Kagome watched him bitterly, angrily . . . 

     _How dare he come after me now!  All for that stupid jewel . . ._

     _That stupid, stupid jewel . . ._

     "Kagome, please . . . you're not well.  Put the bow down and _listen_ to me." His voice was filled with worry, his eyes begged with her . . . he stood before her again, innocently.  "Please, Kagome, don't do this.  I . . . I don't want to see you get hurt."

     "Why?  So you wont have a _jewel detector_ anymore?  Why don't you get that _Kikyou_ by your side again . . . she's the one you want _anyway_!"

     The tone in the young woman's voice hurt Inu-Yasha deeply, deeper than any one of her arrows empowered with Miko energy.  The hanyou stood stunned, shocked, to frightened to move and his stomach wrenching from the emotion that saturated her tender voice . . . her frightened voice . . . 

     Inu-Yasha could not believe that those were the words she had said to him!

     He never thought of it that way!

     Kagome continued to tremble and yet never lost her grip on her bow and the newly notched arrow.  "I'm tired of just being a double!  I'm tired of going out of my way to help you and you don't appreciate it!  I'm _tired_ of knowing I have feelings for you and you don't share them!  I'm tired of it . . ."

     The new arrow slammed into the muddy earth a hairs breath from her targets bare foot, yet he did not move.  

     Inu-Yasha stood there, bewildered . . . his orange eyes wide . . . his face pale with shock . . .

     Kagome armed her bow again, aiming it directly for the half demons chest again.  "I'm tired of it . . ."

     But he didn't move.  "K . . . _Kagome_ . . ."

     Silence befell them, her eyes were like fire . . .

     Reflecting the fires of hell . . .

     "I . . . I d . . . _did_ love Kikyou . . . I _did_ . . . b . . . but . . ."  the hanyou stuttered, his eyes were not even focused on the weapon that threatened his life, but on her eyes . . . her precious eyes tormented . . . lost . . . he longed to see them again . . . "Those _feelings_ . . . they aren't . . . they aren't _there_ anymore . . . in _that _way anymore . . ."

     Kagome pulled the bow taunt, anger swelling in her heart.  "Shut up, Inu-Yasha!  I will _kill_ you . . ."

     "No, Kagome!  Wait!" he shouted, taking a bold step forward.  "I still care about Kikyou . . . but . . . but I . . ." the hanyou paused, feeling his heart palpitate in his chest.  "But I . . . _love_ you . . ."

     The string of the blow slackened by a great margin as the words came from his lips.  Words that would never have come . . . words from the very heart she aimed for . . .

     "I don't want you to kill me, Kagome.  But . . . but if you want to then . . . then go ahead . . ." a tear slipped into the corner of his shining eyes.  "but I never looked at you as a 'shard detector' as much as I looked at you as my closest friend."

     The bow was lowered, Kagome began to shake harder than before.  "I . . . _Inu-Yasha . . ."_ she gasped, her knees buckled under her, the rain seemed too much for her to bear as the emotions bore down on her heart . . . weakened her to nothing . . . she fell to the muddy ground . . .

     "_Kagome_!" Inu-Yasha shouted in horror, rushing to her, picking her up from the muck and holding her in his arms, close to him . . .

     She was icy cold . . . frozen . . . hypothermic no doubt . . .

     Still she shivered, but it was weak . . . slow . . . 

     Tears flowed from her eyes in little streams.

     Or was that the rain that beat her face?  

     He shielded her from it, taking off the shirt of his kimono and draping it over her frailness . . .

     It was as if she were being tortured by nightmares . . .

     _Kikyou's_ nightmares . . .

     Those eyes, he began to think to himself . . . they were never Kagome's . . .

     Those words . . . were not from Kagome's heart . . .

     And Kikyou lurked in the shadows, he could feel her . . . smell her . . .

     And what she had done to poor Kagome . . . those memories that haunted the reincarnated girl still . . . tormenting her soul to the point of . . . to the point of _this._

     Inu-Yasha clenched his fist as the dead woman emerged from the forest into the clearing.  "_You_!" he hissed.

**** Sorry it took so long to get the next chapter up.  Writers block with a mixture of change of employment with a dash of my kid suddenly becoming potty trained sort of got in the way.  That, and I lost my dvd remote, so I couldn't watch my anime which is a real drain on my creativity bug for anything but creative works, so I do apologize.  Please review.  Sniff I hope you're not mad at me sniff, sniff**** 


	8. Chapter 8

Spiraling into the Realm of Hatred

Chapter Eight

     "_You_!" Inu-Yasha snarled viciously, his grip on Kagome tightened as Kikyou slowly stepped from the shadows in the rain . . .

     Silently like a ghost . . . her dead eyes meeting his . . .

     Sad eyes and yet they gleaned with contempt for him . . . "It is."

     "_Why_?  Why did you do this to Kagome?"

     Kikyou turned in the rain, though her hair only looked slightly moist as if the pounding sheets did not touch her . . .

     Of course, she wasn't alive to begin with.  Inu-Yasha bristled with rage.  "Why are  you doing this to Kagome?  Why are you . . ."

     "It is not my fault." The dead woman stated plainly, calmly . . . as if it were no more than a conversation about the weather . . . "It is the way things are.  She is a reincarnation of me and yet I live . . . that body to hold so close to your heart _is_ me . . ." she frowned deeply.  "Only I wish it _were_ me you held . . ."

     "Stop it, Kikyou.  Whatever it is that you're doing to Kagome, stop it."  

     The snarl in the hanyou's voice sent a shock through her, but Kikyou only turned away.  "I already told you, I cannot control what Kagome feels.  She is not herself . . . her soul, one forced back from the dead, I might add, is fighting back . . ."

     Kagome shuddered in Inu-Yasha's arms, she was no longer conscious . . . 

     Inu-Yasha felt his heart race in his chest as he shook her to wake her . . . 

     Breath barely came from her pale lips . . .

     "The only thing that kept her together, Inu-Yasha, was the feelings she had towards you.  _My_ feelings . . . and when you had forsaken her . . . over and over again . . . her soul fell apart . . ." Kikyou grinned slowly as if it were some sort of joke.  "She was overwhelmed."

     "Then _help_ her!" the hanyou pleaded, though he knew it was in vain.

     It was a long moment before Kikyou looked at him, her eyes so sad . . . so baleful that it made the hanyou's angry heart soften, but only a little . . . "So what you told her . . . it wasn't a lie then . . . just to keep her from killing you?"

     Inu-Yasha quickly averted his gaze from hers.  He could not believe that she heard that!  "No . . ." he found himself stating boldly, though the words had to be torn away from his tongue to bring them out in front of the one he had once loved.  "It was not a lie."

      A tear fell from the corner of the dead woman's eye as she turned away . . .

     And yet she said nothing . . .

     There was a long, uneasy pause.  The silence beyond that of anything real . . . the rain's relentless assault upon the earth hushed to whispered tones . . .

     "That girl . . ." Kikyou began slowly.  It was as if she were so uncertain of herself . . . not in what she was saying but _why_ she allowed the words to pass her lips.  She didn't want the strange girl Inu-Yasha loved more than her to live . . .

     And yet . . .

     And yet she couldn't stand to see the pain in Inu-Yasha's amber eyes anymore . . .

     She wanted him dead . . . yes . . .

     But not this way . . .

     Not this horrible, terrible, agonizing way . . .

     "The girl will not live very long . . . my reincarnated soul is fighting to return to me." She smiled a slow, cool smile at the irony that presented itself.  "My soul is only partially in her body . . . there is still some left in this body . . ."

     Inu-Yasha tensed angrily.  "And?"

     "And if her soul isn't calmed within that eroding body then she will die and her soul will return to me . . . it would be as if she never were . . ."

     "What do I do?  What then, Kikyou!  What do I do to help her?" the hanyou bristled, anxious and desperate to hear what the dead woman had to say.  "Tell me!"

     She turned her dark eyes towards him, her gaze sodden and sad and yet twinkled with the gleaming rain . . .

     Or sadistic intent . . .

     "Wake her up."

     Inu-Yasha sat with his mouth agape.  "What?"

     But Kikyou didn't answer before the great glowing soul-stealing insects carried her away into the sky . . .

     Smiling . . .

     "Kikyou!  No!  WAIT!  WHAT DO I DO??"

     But the Priestess's smile only widened further . . .

     Inu-Yasha would try to save her . . . she knew it all to well . . .

     But would that soul in her body . . . _Kikyou_'_s_ soul . . . _allow_ him to save her . . .

** SIGH PLEASE REVIEW!!!!  I SOOO had writers block for the longest time, and then my computer got the worm and crashed and I've been working on my new website www.leeraskycreations.com (not that I'm promoting it or anything grin, but I hand paint jeans and purses – I have tigers up, my dragons are coming this weekend).  But now all that initial stress is over and now that I finally am pointing my story in the right direction, I will be able to work on it steadily now.  YAY.  Please review!  Please.  Thank you kindly!!***


	9. Chapter 9

*** Sorry for the long time between updates, I've been working on my books and haven't had a chance for fanfiction.  But, here is the next chapter.  Please forgive me and give me lots of wonderful reviews.  I love your reviews – they really brighten up my mailbox!!! : ) and make me want to write more wink.  Hehe.  Please enjoy . . .

AND REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *** 

Spiraling into the Realm of Hatred

Chapter Nine

     Kagome was so cold in his hands . . .

     So cold and still, her flesh against his fingertips chilled him.  Gently, Inu-Yasha pulled the jacket of his kimono tighter around her body, forcing away the despair that swelled within his pounding heart as he realized that he was holding the dead body of his best friend . . .

     The woman he loved . . .

     The words of Kikyou lingered in his thoughts for long moments, driving him in mental circles with trying to find meaning with them . . .

     But one thing was certain . . . Kagome was dying . . .

     He could feel her life draining from her body as he clutched her closer to his chest, trying to shield her from the rain.  Silvery hair fell about her as he brought her up close to him, trying his hardest not to cry himself, wiping away the mud that had stained her gray face.  

     It was hopeless, he worried . . . 

     Darkness surrounded him as he felt his eyes close from his own exhaustion, clenching his fingers through Kagome's wet, muddy hair, his cheek resting on her forehead . . .

     It was almost as if it was the closest he had ever been to her . . . for so long . . .

     But why did it have to be like this?

     "_Kagome_. . ." he tried his hardest not to cry.  "_Kagome . . . please . . . _don't _leave _me!" 

     He held her tighter to him, as if that were possible, hoping that perhaps her dying body could draw some life from his own  . . .

     "_Kagome_ . . ." Inu-Yasha felt a hot tear slip from the corner of his eye, falling upon Kagome's face.  "_Please . . . _I_ do _love you . . ."

**************

     _He lied_ . . .

     _Inu-Yasha could never love you_ . . .

     Kagome felt her heart slowing, her eyes flickered open into a dark, dismal presence . . . alone . . .

     So alone . . .

     Mist surrounded her, illuminated by some unworldly light and yet the night was consuming . . . frightening . . . 

     _Where am I_? She tried to ask herself, but her own thoughts were cut short . . .

     _He lied to you . . ._

_     Hates you . . ._

_     You don't deserve to live . . ._

     Kagome realized she was on her hands and knees in mist that cradled her, like an eerie, silent cloud.  _Am I dead . . ._

_     He lied to you . . ._

She forced herself to her feet, forcing her fists into her forehead as her thoughts echoed about her . . .

     Pummeling her . . .

     _He doesn't love you . . ._

_     He wont come after you . . ._

_     You're just a shard detector . . ._

_     That's all you are . . ._

_     You don't deserve to **live**__. . ._

The mist grew thicker around her, swirling like the center of a tornado but in slow, fluid motion.  It was her only light, the only presence that was there, other than the wordless voice that echoed about her . . .

     _He's not coming back for you . . ._

_     How could you even think that he loves you . . ._

     Tears began to stain Kagome's face.  The rain that had beaten her to the earth was no longer in her memories . . . Inu-Yasha was no longer there as well . . . 

     What he told her anyway . . .

     How she almost killed him . . .

     But they were there, deep in her thoughts . . .

     Kagome forced her fists into her head, trying to force out some sort of coherence . . .

     Some sort of sanity . . .

     But there was none . . . just a jumble of thoughts . . .

     A torrent of worries . . .

     And cruel words like venom dripping from the fangs of a snake . . .

     _How could you even think he loved her . . ._

_     Wench . . ._

_     Stupid girl . . ._

_     Bitch . . ._

     Those weren't the words from her thoughts, Kagome suddenly realized . . .

     Those were Inu-Yasha's words . . . she felt her heart drop further, beating slowly in her aching chest as if it were a clock winding down . . . the words echoed louder than the others . . .

     _Wench . . ._

_     How could he ever love you . . ._

_     Stupid girl . . ._

_     Bitch . . ._

_     How could you think that . . ._

_     You don't even deserve to live . . ._

     Kagome ran . . . she ran as far as she could into the nothingness . . . 

     She was dead . . . there was no other explanation for it.  No longer was there the forest.  No longer was there the village to run to . . . she was alone . . .

     Alone . . .

     Even that word seemed like the understatement of the century.  

     She was lost . . .

     _He lied to you_ . . .

     She was hurt . . .

     _He never loved you . . ._

She could feel Kikyou's eyes watching her . . . her selfish grin lightening the world around her as if she were watching her prey . . . watching her run to her death somewhere . . . run into a trap . . .

     Kagome gasped, stumbling over her own feet, sliding through the mist to a bitter stop, sobbing uncontrollably . . .

     _You don't even deserve to live . . ._

_     Wench . . ._

_     Stupid girl . . ._

_     You don't even deserve to live . . ._

     She was dying . . . she could feel her soul falling apart . . .

     There was a tender touch somewhere, a kiss of true love upon her lips . . .

     NO, _Kikyou's_ lips . . .

     It was Kikyou's memory . . .

     _See . . . he never loved you . . ._

     He held Kagome's hand . . . his was so warm in hers that was so cold . . . he looked into her eyes with his so lovingly . . . sweet . . . caring . . . warm . . .

      NO . . .

     It was Kikyou's memory!

     _See . . . none of his love belongs to you . . ._

     Kagome clenched her fist, driving her fingernails into her palms until she felt as if she were going to draw blood.  _No . . . that can't be right . . . _The voice of reason screamed to be heart, howling inside of her heart . . .

     _He liiiiiiiiied to you . . ._

_     You don't even deserve to liiiiiiiiive . . ._

     Kagome weakened . . .

     Her soul began to grow slack, as if she had mentally held it together with tape and the tape suddenly snapped . . .

     Kikyou's smile radiated . . .

     But the soul never dissipated far . . .

     For there was another voice there too . . .

     Another . . . far fainter . . .

     But Kagome heard it . . .

     At the very edge of her conciousness . . . she had to strain whatever was left of her entire being to hear it . . .

     But it was there . . .

     "_Kagome . . . please . . . don't leave me . . ." _it paused . . .

     The sinister light darkened slightly . . .

     Kagome felt her heart flutter in her aching chest . . .

     "_Kagome . . . please . . . I do love you . . ._"

     But the voice disappeared . . .

     Kagome grew icy cold as she felt the mist grow tight around her . . . hatred began to flitter about like butterflies on fire . . .

     _He lied to you . . ._

     Claws tore into Kagome's shoulder . . .

     She fell to the ground as the jewel was taken from her . . .

     Kagome looked up to see Inu-Yasha standing above her, holding the jewel dripping in her blood . . .

     NO, it was Kikyou's memory . . .

     NO . . . it wasn't . . .

     Kagome clenched her fists as the words returned . . . from even further away . . .

     He lied to her, she thought bitterly to herself.  Who could _ever_ love her . . .

*** Okay BIG SIGH what do you think??? PLEASE let me know!! **PLEASE REVIEW!!!  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!! ** I really need your support in this one!  I know it repeats – but it's brainwashing!!!  Okay – please – I am BEGGING you guys to review!!  PLEASE!!!!  And again, I am so sorry it took so long to get updated . . . please crawling on hands and knees, bowing please forgive me and review!  Please!  Please!!!  Thank you! *** 


	10. Chapter 10

*** Thanks for all the reviews!  They're always FUN to read!!!  I enjoy them immensely – please . . . more . . . more . . . ***

Spiraling into the Realm of Hatred

Chapter Ten

     Inu-Yasha stayed in the woods with Kagome, for how long, he couldn't tell . . . still as stone, sobbing into her raven hair as he clung to her.  He was like a lost child, struggling to find reason in mindless tragedy but was finding nothing to grasp . . . nothing but Kagome's cold, stiff body.

     Only knowing that it was all his fault . . .

     Stroking a wet wisp of hair from her face to behind her ear, Inu-Yasha struggled to stay awake and yet something seemed to pull him towards the realm of sleep.  It was an odd feeling . . . as if some subconscious force called to him . . . 

     The rain that threatened to flood the world trickled to a stop and yet he hardly had noticed, only he shivered in the night winds . . .

     Shielding Kagome from the cold . . .

     A thousand demons could strike at that very moment . . .

     But he wouldn't have care . . .

     All he saw was Kagome . . .

     How his angry words destroyed her . . .

     It was more than he could bear, he tightened his grip around her, promising never to let her go . . . not even in his own death . . .

     And he wouldn't . . .

     "_Kagome . . ._" he whimpered pathetically.  "_Kagome . . . come back to me . . . please . . ._"

***********************

     The world of darkness seemed to enclose on Kagome.  

     It entered her eyes, forcing any reasonable conscious from her very thoughts as the mists of nothing turned into a world inhospitable and cruel . . . full of seething hatred and fire that quested for flesh of the living . . .

     Or dead . . .

     But Kagome stood there, unphased at such turmoil . . . as if she had seen it all before . . .

     The charred black rock erupted from the nothingness below her feet, cracks wrinkled below her, giving her something to visibly stand on as molten rock filled them . . . unscathing . . .

     As if it knew her . . .

     Stroking her as if she were its pet . . .

     The blinding mist turned a thick hellish gray as Kagome looked about.  Crisped black demons hopped around frantically with broken wings and tortured faces, laughing cynically at her humanness . . .

     Waiting for her . . .

     Calling to her . . .

     _This is_ . . . Kagome felt the words form into her head . . . her own words . . .

     _This is Hell . . . welcome . . ._

She felt herself grow rigid and yet remained unafraid.  

     Unsurprised . . .

     A terrible smell filled her senses and yet she felt nothing . . .

     It was terrible . . . but familiar . . .

     "_Kagome . . ._" she heard it . . .

     The fires raged even higher . . . shielding her from it's urgency . . .

     Shielding her from the reality it struggled to bring her back to . . .

     _He would never come for you . . ._

Kagome trembled angrily . . .

     _He would never come for me . . . _she whimpered to herself.  _I don't deserve to live . . ._

_     "Kagome . . . come back to me_ . . ."

     She put her hands over her ears as if the words pained her . . .

     They did pain her . . .

     They weren't real . . .

     _He would never come back for me . . ._

_     He could never love something like me . . ._

     But the words grew louder . . . more urgent . . .

     Stronger against her troubled soul . . .

     He could almost feel him there with her, holding her . . . his warm arms around her . . . 

     But that wasn't for her . . . it was for Kikyou . . . she knew it . . . it couldn't be for her!  It was impossible . . .

      She tore away from those tender thoughts . . . those innocent feelings that pulled her through darkness . . . intrusive emotions that threatened to drag her back into that terrible world of pain . . .

     For a flicker of a moment her heart began to pound tightly in her chest . . . maybe Inu-Yasha was trying to get through to her . . . maybe . . .

     _He could never love you_ . . . 

     The voice blared in her head, forcing out any other of her childish thoughts.  

     _Run . . . he liiiiiiiied to you . . ._

_     Run . . ._

Kagome listened . . .

     She had no other choice, even the prospect of reason eluded her . . .

     The chocking smoke seemed to drive her forward, the heathen hell-beasts cackled and pursued her, pinching at her with their knobbed fingers . . . clawing at her flesh . . .

     Kagome gasped in a moment of fear . . .  

     The voice from before . . . whoever that was . . . 

     The kindness . . .

     The weakness in the tone calling for strength . . .

     Calling for her . . .

     But at the moment it was forgotten . . .

     At the moment, there was nothing but the fires licking her cheek as she sprinted through the midst of lava and danger and yet was unhurt.  

     Whoever it was . . .

     Only her terrible thoughts to promote her fear . . .

     _He liiiiiiiiied to me . . ._

_     He wont come back for me. . ._

Tears screamed down her face . . .

     There was no turning back . . .

     Nothing behind her . . .

      She struggled to keep moving . . . her soul leaving a trail as she fell apart . . .

      Memories fluttered away . . .

     Her strength slackened . . . her thoughts quieted . . .

     Until she was nothing . . .

      Standing in the midst of Hell . . .

     Broken . . .

      Alone . . .

      Forgotten . . .

     Forgetting who she even was . . .

     "Kagome?" a male voice questioned.

      She turned, stunned at the silver haired, dog eared demon behind her . . .

     He held out a tender hand, his amber eyes wide with worry and fear . . . "Kagome . . . are you okay?"

     She narrowed her eyes menacingly.  "Who are you?"

*** So – how do you guys like it?  Do ya like it?  Huh?  Do ya like it?  It's sort of . . . well, I'm not good at mushy, goopy stuff but it's a semi-half-decent start . . . right?  Please review!!!  Please!  Please!  Please!  Please!  Please!  Please!!  Pleeeeeeease!!!!!!***


	11. Chapter 11

Spiraling into the Realm of Hatred

Chapter 11

     The fires of hell burned around them as Inu-Yasha stood before Kagome, trying his hardest not to seem frightened . . .

     But it was a battle the hanyou was quickly losing.  "Kagome?" 

     She glared at him angrily.  "Who are you?  What do you want?"  
     He was at a loss for words, she saw her standing there clueless.  Trembling before him.  Not knowing who he was!  "K . . . _Kagome_ . . . it's me!  Inu-Yasha."

     Her eyes glazed with non-recognition.  "What are you doing here?"

     "I . . . I don't know." He muttered, taking a step forward, only to have Kagome step away from him.  "I just sort of _got_ here.  Kagome . . . give me your hand."

     _He lied to you_ . . .

     The voice resounded against the magma and the black, featureless sky . . .

     Kagome took another step back.  "Get away from me."

     "What's wrong?  What's wrong with you?" he shrieked, trying to get near to her, but she only pulled away out of fear.  "Don't you even _recognize_ me?"

     The smoke around them began to grow thick, she coughed.  "Where is this place?"

     _Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun . . . he liiiied to you . . ._

     Inu-Yasha bristled as he heard the voice echo about him.  "_Kikyou_?  This is _your_ doing!  Stop this!  STOP THIS!" he reached for Kagome . . .

     But she was already gone . . . running from him through the mist and billowing smoke plumes . . .

     "Wait!  _Kagome_!" he called after her, watching in horror as she vanished through the thickness.  "Kagome!"

     _He'll never come for you . . ._

     He heard it again . . . it was Kikyou's voice . . .

     _Welcome to my Hell, Inu-Yasha.  Now . . . it is hers_ . . .

     "What?" he growled.  "What is this?  Let Kagome go!"  
     _I can't let her go . . . she can't let me go . . . we're connected . . . and she has already fallen . . . the only reason you are here is because it was part of her soul who called you here to save her . . . but that was foolish . . . you can do nothing . . ._

_     I am so close to regaining what is mine now, Inu-Yasha . . . and then we can be together once more . . ._

_     Just as we had once been_ . . .

     Inu-Yasha stood there, stunned.  He couldn't believe what he heard!  Somewhere inside of him it was something he wanted.  To be there with Kikyou again, fifty years ago when they were madly in love with one another . . . when he wanted to be with her forever . . . 

     But it was over now . . .

     Over . . .

     "Kikyou!" he shouted.  "This is wrong!  This is _not_ the way I want it to be."

     There was no reply.  Inu-Yasha began to wonder if she had given up . . . but he knew it could never be that easy.  He peered through the thickening smoke for Kagome, but couldn't find her . . . nor could he see Kikyou . . .

     He was alone . . . in Kikyou's hell . . .

     Was this what it was like for her to be alive . . . well . . . brought back?  In her tortured soul where she thought he betrayed her?  

     Inu-Yasha could feel it . . . that horrible feeling.  That terrible cry that raised and lowered again and again, calling out the feeble words of a dying woman in anger against who she thought was him.  Where she had laid in the dewy late night grass in puddles of her own blood rushing from the wounds she _died_ with thinking that it had been him . . .

     But it wasn't him . . .

     It wasn't him . . .

     A sparkling firefly drifted over to Inu-Yasha as he stood there, still trying to take it all in.  Kagome was gone . . . no longer could he see her . . . he could smell nothing in the sulfur filled air but he could see and hear the vile hell-demons bouncing around with their evil voices . . . taunting . . . shouting . . .

     He could feel the despair . . .

     It was contagious . . .

     The firefly drifted in front of his face . . . a brilliant whitish pink . . .

     It hovered there before his face . . . twinkling before his eyes . . .

     A long moment passed before he realized what it was . . . a bit of soul . . .

     Kagome's soul!

     He reached to grab it, but it flittered away as if it had a mind of its own . . . 

     Calling to him with a soft voice, but when he twitched his ears, he could hear it . . .

     It was Kagome's voice deep within his soul . . .

     Leading him . . .

     Begging him to follow . . .

     She wasn't completely lost!  Inu-Yasha felt a spark of hope in his heart that the fires of hell quickly dampened has he wandered unseeing . . .

     The bit of soul quickly died out, it's light fading right in front of him . . .

     Leaving nothing . . .

     _You'd better find her Inu-Yasha_ . . . Kikyou taunted . . .

     _You'd better find her . . . she's almost gone_ . . .

*** Okay – please review!  Sigh it's getting to the end.  So close and yet so far :O).  Please review!!!  Will he find her?  Her soul is already dying!  Part of it already died!  Oh no!  I hope he gets to her before she's lost!   


	12. Chapter 12

When I talk 'little black imps' think those little thingies (though they weren't black – but bear with me) who Sesshoumaru killed when they tried to take Rins soul.  Them type thingies.  

Spiraling into the Realm of Hatred

Chapter 12

     Inu-Yasha ran as hard as he could . . . struggling through the choking mist as he tried to figure out where exactly he was going . . . 

    Why he was going . . .

     What he was doing there in the bowls of hell . . .

     He only remembered holding Kagome in the rain . . .

     How he had heard her voice call to him . . .

     How he drifted off to sleep and then stepped into her nightmare . . .

     She called to him . . .

     She brought him here . . .

     So, Inu-Yasha thought with a bit of hope . . . If it was her who had brought him there then perhaps there was some hope left in her troubled soul . . .

     Still the little black imps bounced around, laughing at the torment, following him like gnats . . . poking at him . . . pinching at him . . . 

     There was certainly fear within him . . . he could feel it welling up inside of him . . . a despair he had never felt before . . .

     But, it didn't feel like him . . . it felt like another emotion . . . from outside, creeping to his heart . . .

     He pushed it away, refusing to listen to it as he struggled, avoiding the magma that threatened to burn him, though as it splashed upon him it was no more than boiling water.  He could handle it . . . 

     A frightened sob caught his ears . . .

     Another rosy sparkle drifted before him through the mist and fog only to fade into non-existence . . .

     "Kagome!" he cried out suddenly, his eyes still trying to see where a bit of her soul had vanished.  "KAGOME!"

     The crying rose louder, but he could hardly hear it over the shrieks and shouts of the hell-creatures that followed, striking their claws onto the blackened earth, their pointed tails lashing about as they laughed . . . rolling in laughter . . .

     A feeling of utter hopelessness befell Inu-Yasha as he blinked through the mist to see a shuddering shape upon the ground, sobbing into the ebony stone . . . trembling against all that haunted her . . . 

     It did not even look like Kagome anymore.  This girl was small, completely overtaken by fear and emotion that he knew very well Kagome could not have possessed such as this.  No, this was some other poor fool who's life was drying up within their hearts as they clamored for the top of their mountain of life only to slip ruthlessly into a canyon, never to come out again . . .

     Only . . . this was no stranger . . .

     It _was_ indeed Kagome. 

     Her hair was a mess, mussed about her head in knotted wreaths as she hid her face from him . . . hid her face from herself . . . sobbing pitifully as if it were the only thing in her life worth doing . . .

     Again, loneliness knocked at his heart as he watched her with saddened eyes . . .

     It wasn't his own emotion he felt . . . it was Kagome's . . .

     "K . . . Kagome?" he questioned softly, afraid that his very voice would send her sprinting away from him again.  

     And if she were to do that, he realized as a pink bit of soul escaped from her body to die, he would lose her forever.

     "K . . . _Kagome_ . . ." 

     She stopped, turning ever so slightly until he could barely see her glistening, tear filled eyes.  "W . . . _who . . ._"

     But they were the only words that escaped her lips before she fell into a burst of shaking, forgetting she had even said anything at all.  Kagome pulled away from him, looking back at him as if he were satan himself coming to steal her away.

     He was dumbstruck.  "Please, Kagome . . . It's _me_ . . . Inu-Yasha . . ."

     "Who?" she shrieked, leaping to her feet.  "Don't come near me!  Please!  Don't hurt me!"

     The way she had said it . . .

     The fear that glittered in her eyes . . .

     Inu-Yasha felt so weak . . . so helpless as he watched Kagome climb to her feet, too tired to keep running, trembling all over, writhing her hands in utter fear . . .

     Her eyes did not register him . . .

     "But . . . _Kagome_ . . . it's _me_ . . ." he tried again, forcing a smile to his face, reaching out for her hand with his.  "Please . . . come back to me!  Please don't leave me, Kagome!  Don't you remember me?"

     She didn't answer.  

     _How he lied to her!_

_     Betrayed her! _

_     Hurt her!  _

_     Killed her!_

     "That wasn't me!" Inu-Yasha shouted, anger mounting in his voice as he felt all the thoughts that panged Kagome's beaten heart.  "None of that is me!  I've never hurt you, Kagome!  Never!"

     _You liiied . . ._

_     You betraaayed me!_

     "That wasn't me, Kikyou!"

     Kagome eyed him cautiously, her eyes squinted as if she were trying to think.

     "I never hurt you!  I never did anything to either of you!  It was all a misunderstanding."  But the feelings he could sense emitting from Kagome never waned, only strengthened with every word that came from his mouth.  

     Why didn't she understand?  

     A shadow lurked within the mist, tall and slender with long black hair.  

     "_Kikyou_." Inu-Yasha snarled as the woman in question stepped forward, pale and silent.  

     "She wont respond to you anymore, Inu-Yasha." She sneered.  "This young double of me is too far gone.  Her soul is now within me . . ." Kikyou reached out her slender hands to the misty hair, gathering bits of rosy soul that exploded from Kagome, gingerly accepting them back.  "I missed my soul . . . with it now I can live again."

     The hanyou bristled.  "That's not _fair_, Kikyou!"

     Her eyes were hurt.  "Not fair?  How is it not fair?  The way I was brought back to this terrible, horrible earth only to wander in a lifeless state fueled by my _hatred_ of you?  How I relive my death every day?  Not fair, how this woman has taken my soul from me, harboring it within herself and refusing to give me back what is rightfully _mine_."

     "The Gods have cast your soul to Kagome . . ." Inu-Yasha began harshly, the words to remind the dead priestess that she should no longer be walking the earth were held at bay.  He clenched his fists.  "Please, let Kagome go."

     "I can't." she shrugged slowly.  "This is beyond me, it was bound to happen anyway."

     Inu-Yasha glared furiously, his amber eyes befalling Kagome as she trembled like a fall leaf in a speedy gale, her hands clutched around her shoulders as she shivered from the cold.  

     Kikyou watched her one love for a long moment where he had not taken his eyes from Kagome.  "You love her.'

     He snarled.  "Stop this, Kikyou!  This isn't right!"

     "You love this _girl_ over me?" she questioned, approaching him slowly, her eyes fixed upon him.  "You truly want this _girl_ over me?"

     The hanyou clenched his jaws shut, refusing to allow any words escape.  

     Kikyou was dead . . . but she was still Kikyou . . .

     "I will be alive once again in a few moments, Inu-Yasha.  Then we can live together as we had planned . . ." Kagome crumpled to the ground as Kikyou said those words, her dark eyes fixated upon Inu-Yasha's, seductively stroking his cheek with her soft, cold hands.  "You had once said you wished to be with me, Inu-Yasha.  Does that still hold true?"

     "I . . . I . . ." he stammered, afraid of his own words . . . afraid of the touch that warmed his skin.  

     Emotions stirred within him that he could not longer explain . . .

     "Inu-Yasha . . ." Kikyou cooed.  "Stay here with me . . ."

     Kagome whimpered, clutching her stomach as she curled into a little ball of pain.

     "It's too late for her . . ." the priestess continued, her lips inches from Inu-Yasha's, her eyes consumed in his.  "Now you shall have me forever."

     She gripped his arm . . .

     He gripped hers . . .

*** Uh oh . . . there's a twist I _didn't _expect.  No, seriously, that sort of happened on its own.  AAAH!  This was supposedly the last chapter – wrongo!  Oh well.  What's another chapter?  I hope you enjoyed!  **_PLEASE REVIEW_!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!***** 


	13. Chapter 13

***I know, I know . . . sorry for the lateness!!  And I'm sorry it's so short!!!  Please don't hate me!!!!!! :0(!!  I've been so busy with my kid and the holidays and writing the books/stories that I've neglected for so long . . . plus this.  I hope you enjoy this . . . please review!!!  Please Please Please Please Please!!!!!!  Thanks!!!  Enjoy!***

Spiraling into the Realm of Hatred

Chapter 13

     Inu-Yasha felt his heart leap within his chest as Kikyou's cold, dead lips came close to his.  No breath came from them . . . no breath but the foul stench of death that corroded his scent . . .

     The iciness that was now Kikyou . . .

     His hands gripped her white shirt tight but still, it was not the same.  

     There was no warmth there to spark the same memories of the love he felt towards her, only the pity of what she has become.  The dead woman seeking to fill the void within herself and seeking the souls of lost young women to do so.  Consuming them into herself, digesting them into the falseness that was now her.

     But he held on anyway.  She had tried so hard to kill him since her resurrection and yet there she was, bidding for his love once more.  Her eyes never lost that loving glow and yet still they seemed empty.

     Dead . . . just like her . . .

     A piece of pink soul floated before his amber eyes like a plea of the lost, fading into the oblivion that was the woman he held.  Kagome's life was passing back into the vessel from which it had come from at the time of her birth and there was nothing he could do to save her . . . not this time . . . 

     Not against Kikyou . . .

     "You can't do this." He pleaded with her, afraid to argue . . . afraid to fight . . .

     She could beat him.  He knew she could.  Her bow was left in the other world aside her quiver and arrows, but she still had the Miko powers deep within her soul that could vanquish his half demon blood if she so desired.

     Yet she chose to spare him.  To be with him for eternity . . .

     At the cost of a single young woman's life . . . Kagome shivered behind him, yet he seemed not to notice her . . .

     All he saw was Kikyou.  The touch of her slender fingertips against his cheek as he held her in her eyes the way she did . . . her pitiful dead eyes . . .

     Another sparkle of soul dust glinted before him, disappearing into Kikyou.  "I'm so glad you decided to stay . . ." she crooned, still stroking her cheek.  "You and I will now be together . . . so long have I wanted this . . ."

     He said nothing to that touch, fought not against the beauty that was Kikyou before him.  The way her hair fell before her face, the sweetness that was her lips . . .

     Cold, but still her . . .

     The first woman who had ever loved him for who he truly was . . .

     And now no one would ever love her for what she truly had become . . .

     It saddened him . . . hurt him as she pulled him close to her . . . his heartbeat against her chest where they beat no living heart . . .

     Loneliness began to creep into his heart once again, nibbling around the edges until he had to notice it . . . the crying of the dying perked his ears as the spell that had befallen him lifted hazily about his thoughts . . .

     "K . . . _Kagome_ . . ." he barked, trying to push Kikyou from him, but she refused to relent.  

     "That girl is _dead_, Inu-Yasha . . . there is only me!" the Miko roared, her claws drove into Inu-Yasha's flesh as fire consumed them and the last sparkle of pink fluttered and disappeared before his frightened eyes . . .

     "_Kagoooomeee_!"

***You know I can't end a story on chapter 13, sorry.  I guess I'm just a superstitious nutcase.  I know it's been a while and I knoooooow you guys are probably mad at me but, please review.  Let me knooow that I'm doing a good job and give me the inspiration I need to finish what could possibly be the last chapter!!  Could Kagome be dead?  Could Kikyou have revived for real?  Could the soul have finally chosen its vessel?

Stay tuned!!!  AND REVIEW PLEASE!!!***


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